Folding bed



July 15, 1930. R. COOPERSMITHI 1,770,603

FOLDING BED Filed March 17, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fatented July 15, 1930 UNITED STATES L'Z'Zdttli PATENT. series RUDOLPH COOPERSMITH, or onrcneo, ILLINOIS, AssrenoR, BY M EsNr; Assrenmnnrs, 'ro ESTHER COOPERSMITH, on ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI FOLDING BED Application filed March 17, 1928. Serial No. 262,577.

My invention relates to folding beds, the bed of my invention including a bedstead which may, if desired, be provided with casters for shifting the location of the bed and which may extend only a short way along the bed when the bed is unfolded.

The bed includes a mattress support which is preferably formed in three panels that are assembled with the aforesaid bedstead and which, when folded, overlie the bot-tom thereof. Linkage and levers are also desirably provided for constraining the movements of the folding portions of the bed so that they may assume their proper relative positions when folded and when unfolded. Springs are also provided for aiding and cushioning the folding and unfolding movements.

The invention will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the preferred form of bed, unfolded, portions being broken away; Fig. 2 is a side view of the structure shown in Fig. 1' with the head end broken away; Fig. 3 shows the bed in folded adjustment; Fig. 4 illustratesthe foot panel, the intermediate panel, and a portion of the head panel of the mattress support with the foot panel folded and at right angles to the inter mediate panel, the intermediate panel being, as yet, unfolded; Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a sec tional view online 7-? of Fig. 5.

The mattress support is made up of the head panel 1, the intermediate panel 2 and the foot panel 3, these various panels being desirably made of angle iron with sides hon-- zontally disposed and sides vertically disposed. The intermediate panel 2 is pivotally connected at 4: and 5 with the head and foot panels, 7 respectively. This intermediate panel is inclusive of two separate pieces of angle iron, as illustrated, though the invention is not to be thus limited, it being unnecessary to connect these two pieces that constitute the intermediate panel by means of struts inasmuch as the adjacent ends of the side bars of each of the adjacent panels 1 and 3 are held in fixed relation, as will appear.

. go The panels of the mattress support are completed by means of metal fabric which, as illustrated, is inclusive of springs 6 arranged transversely and connected at their outer ends with the sides of the panels, springs 7 arranged longitudinally and connected at their outer ends with the head and foot panels, and connecting links 8 and 9 which are suitably connected with each other and with the aforesaid springs in accordance with common practice.

A bedstead is employed to support the outer end of the head panel 1 when the bed is unfolded, this bedstead being inclusive of a horizontal frame 10 which is supported upon casters 11 and the uprights or legs 12 which are in rigid relation to the frame 10. The sides of the panel 1 are pivotally connected with the upper ends of the uprights or legs.

12 as indicated at 13. The pivots at 13 are located between the ends of the panel 1 and are sufficiently spaced apart from the outer ends of this panel to cause the major portion of'the horizontal bedstead frame 10 to underlie the panel 1, saidframe 10 being merely extended outwardly beyond this panel sufficiently to accommodate the head end 1 1 and permit this head end to extend above the panel 1. The elements 12 and 1 1 are in fixed relation with each other, being rigidly secured upon the frame 10. Counterbalancing springs 15 are connected between the inner end of the bedstead frame 10 and the portion of the panel 1 which is between the pivots 13 and the head end 14. When the bed is unfolded, these springs are under increased tension and aid in the bedfolding operation when the panel 1 is being turned counterclockwise upon the pivots 13 and also serve to retard the downward movement of the mattress supporting frame when the bed is being unfolded.

The panel 1 is further supported by the legs'16 which are coupled with the uprights or legs 12 by means of the linkage 17. The legs 16 are pivotally connected at 18 with the inner end portions of the panel 1. The linkage 17 preserves the legs 12 and 16 in parallelism in all of the positions which the panel 1 may occupy as a result of the turning of this panel upon its pivots 18, the pivots 13 and 18 bein equidistantly spaced from the correspon ing pivoted ends of the linkage 17 When the bed is folded, Fig. 3, the panel section 1 is upright and the legs 16 are also upright in close proximity thereto and abreast thereof due to the controlling action of the linkage 1'2.

When the bed is unfolded, the foot panel 3 is artially supported by the foot end 19 is connected with said panel by means of the links 20 and 21. The places of connection of the links 20 and 21 with the bed end 19 are spaced apart as are also the places of connection of these links with the foot anel 3. This linkage 20, 21 cooperates to ldthe foot end 19and the panel 3 in right lar relation when the bed is unfolded, Fig. 2, and to bring the foot end into parallel relation with and abreast of and in close proximity to the panel 3 when the bed is being folded, Fig. 4. The support furnished for the foot panel 3 by the foot end 19 is at the outer and of this panel. Such panel is supported at its other end by the legs 16 through the intermediation of the panel 2. The sides o'ithe various panels are maintained in fixed relation in the region of the intermediate panel by means 0 he horizontal strut 22 which connects the legs 16. The sides of the footpanel 3 are further maintained in rigid relation by the strut 23 which connects the lower emisofjthe levers 24 that are pivoted. to thesides of the panel 3 at 25 adjacent the inner ends of this panel. The upper ends of the lovers 24 which project above the pivots 25 are connected by means of the links 26 with the posts 27 that are fixed upon and depend from the side members of the intermediate panel 2. Links 28 connect portions of the lovers 24 that are below their pivots 25 with portions of the links 21 that are below the upper pivots of these latter links. The levers 24 and the linkage 21, 26 and 28 cooperate to constrain the foot end 19 to a vertical position when the mattress support is unfolded to a horizontal position and to force the elevation of the foot end with its bottom substantially at the level of the panel 2 at the conclusion of the first step in the folding operation, Fig. 4. The foot end 19 and the imermd panel 2 are always maintained in right angular relation by the links 20 and 21 acting in cooperation with the links 28, the Mel's-24, and the links 26. The links 28 are pivotally connected with links 21 between the pivoted ends of the links 21. The levers 24 are maintained in parallelism with the foot end 19 and at right angles to the intermediate panel 2 during all folding and unfolding movements of the bed. When the bed is unfolded, said lovers are at right angles to the panel 3 but when the panel 3 is being brought to an upright position in the first step in the folding operation, the panel 3 is brought into parallellism with the levers 24 which are still vertical, the inner ends of the sides of the panel 3 coming into close proximity to and above the horizontal side of the angle iron strut 23, Fig. 4. The next folding operation consists in turning the intermediate panel 2 and the foot panel 3 with the parts coupled therewith and while these two panels are in their right angular relationship shown in Fig. 4 to a position in which the intermediate panel 2 is upright and the foot panel 3 and foot end 19 are horizontal, the intermediate panel being turned upon its pivots 4 in this folding movement. The next folding movement is one which brings the parts to the position shown in Fig. 3 as will be readily understood by an inspection of the drawings.

Coiled springs 29 are connected at their ends with the brackets 30, 30 that are onried upon the inner ends of the panels 1 and 3 respectively, the brackets 30 being rigid upon the panel 1 and the brackets 30 hei pivoted upon the panel 3. Other coile springs 31 are connected at their ends directly with the inner ends of the sides of said panels 1 and 3. One end of each spring 29 is anchored to the panel substantially upon the axis of the pivots 4 and the other end of each such spring is pivotally connected with the panel 3 between the pivots 25 andthe outer end of this panel. When the bed is unfolded, the springs 29 are placed under their greatest tension and, therefore, aid in folding the 8-D- el 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4,'t se springs being under their reduced tension with the adjustment of Fig. 4 and subsequently thereafter. The axes of the springs 29 are slightly below the planes that contain the pivots 4 and 25 so that when the bed is unfolded, the springs will not tend to fold the same but rather, preferably, serve to aid in keeping it unfolded. The springs 31 are connected between the pivots4 and 5 so that they are under their least tension when the bed is unfolded, the tension of these springs increasing as the bed is being folded and reaching their maximum tension when the bed is final ly folded, Fig. 3. The spring 29 and 31 thus act differentially, the springs 29 losingtheir tension as the springs 31 acquire their tension, the springs 31 thus having cushioning effect to ease the effect in the folding operation. During the unfolding operation, from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, the springs 31 aid in the unfolding operation. From the position shown in Fig. 4 to the final unfolded position, the springs 29 will have a cushioning effect in opposition to the pulling efiect of the springs 31.

Two abutments32 are provided upon the sides of the intermediate panel 2 and at the end of this panel that is adjacent the inner 1 end of the panel 1 and two other abntmenits 33, complemental to the abutments 32, are provided upon the legs 16. lVhen the bed is unfolded, these abutments are in engagement, as illustrated most clearly in Figs. 2 bed is unfolded to ate to prevent thelegs 16 from callapsing when the bed is unfolded from the position shown in Fig. 4. In adouble bed, I desirably provide about fifty pounds dead weight upon the bedstead frame 10 adjacent the bed end 141:. If it were not for the aforesaid abutments, this weight would have to be increased to about eighty or ninety pounds.

When the bed is folded, the mattress support is interposed between the end portion 14 of the bedstead and the legs or uprights 12, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 3, said legs or uprights performing the added function of defining a receiving space for the folded mattress support together with the mattress on this support. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the head end panel 1 of the mattress support is approximately equal in length to the combined lengths of the intermediate panel 2 and the foot panel 3, the intermediate panel 2 being much shorter than the foot panel 3 whereby the mattress support, when folded as illustrated in Fig. 3, is so disposed as to afford ample room between the bottom frame 10 of the bedstead and the lower end of the panel 8 for the reception of pillows, blankets, sheets, etc., which may be readily manipulated through the bed end 14 which is preferably in the form of a hollow frame and which bedding may also be manipulated from the sides. Ample circulation of air is also afforded by the arrangement illustrated.

Changes may be made without departing from the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In afolding bed, the combination with a bedstead which is inclusive of two fixed upstructure.

avoil faulty collapse of the In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name.

rights, one at each side of the bedsteachsaid uprights being between the ends of the bedstead; of a foldable mattress support divided lengthwise of the bedstead into panels, one of the panels being pivoted upon said uprights upon an axis extending horizontally and transversely of the bedstead to permit this panel to be moved to vertical andhori- Zontal positions, a leg pivotally connected with the panel that is pivoted upon said uprights which are normally between this leg and one bed end; and a link connecting this leg, below its pivot, with one of said uprights,

there being abutments upon said leg and the next panel that are brought into abutting engagement when the bed is unfolded to normal position and which abutments are relat-ed to prevent the lower end of the leg from being moved toward the uprights, when the RUDOLPH COOPERSMITH. 

